Under The Rain
by kathy20121
Summary: Before the end, she tried to do everything right for the broken man she loved. Before the end, he tried not to destroy the only thing he had left. The tale before the ending of two lives that found each other and wouldn't have had it any other way.


**Fandom:** Naruto

**Pairing:** Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata

**Timeline:** Two years after the beginning of the Fourth Shinobi World War

**Spoilers:** Up to date with the manga as of chapter 529 (May include things of subsequent chapters)

**Warnings: **It takes a different path from the manga from chapter 529. There's angst. It involves Sasuke and Naruto in their canon relationship (friends/rivals) and Itachi and Sasuke.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto

**Summary: **Before the end, she tried to do everything right for the broken man she loved. Before the end, he tried not to destroy the only thing he had left.

**Author's Note: **First of all, if you're reading this, thanks so much for giving this fic a chance! It deals a lot with a pregnant Hinata trying to save Sasuke from himself and Sasuke dealing with his feelings of love, hate, revenge and destruction. This chapter is very Sasuke-centric at the beginning. I'd like to read what you think about this, so leave a review if you have the time, please! =)

The last time

_Every time I see those eyes,_

_I catch glimpses of things I wished I never saw,_

_Something outside these barriers I set_

_Containing me… Smothering…_

_Rendering this beast as worthless…_

That horrible, familiar scent of rain filled the air. He wondered where he was as his fingertips moved to reveal that he was lying over grass. His whole body was numb and someone was holding him tightly. He forced himself to open his eyes. Blue eyes were crying…

_Sasuke…_

That voice that filled him with such a mixture of emotions was calling him away from there.

_We destroy what we love the most… we break them into beautiful, tiny little pieces. I destroyed you…_

"Nii-san" He whispered looking for the source of the voice. He couldn't open his eyes.

_Even when you were the person I loved the most…_

"Nii-san!" He screamed desperately, tears running down his face without him even noticing. "Nii-san!" A pair of warm, familiar arms wrapped themselves around him. He felt at peace for a little while.

"I'm here" he whispered to his ear. Sasuke held him tightly to feel he was really there and no matter how tight his grip was, it wasn't enough. Tears began drenching Itachi's shirt. He caressed Sasuke's hair while smiling. "I don't deserve this"

"What are you talking about?" He asked still pressed against his chest.

"You… holding me like this" Sasuke shook his head and increased the strength of his grip if that was even possible. "Are you seriously crying over me? Me, who's destroyed everything you hold dear? Why don't you…?" And now was his turn to tighten his embrace. "Why don't you hate me?"

_I destroyed the person I loved the most…_

"Even dead I am destroying every good thing about you, aren't I?"

_I broke him into tiny little pieces…_

"Tell me… is there at least some part of you that's happy?" Sasuke froze at the question; Itachi was easily able to feel him going stiff. He caressed his hair a bit more and smiled.

Suddenly, Sasuke lost his support as Itachi's whole body turned into a flock of crows.

"Are you running away from me?" He asked upset; the crows flew in all directions.

"No, you are." Sasuke frowned. Itachi reappeared at his left.

"What does that mean?" he asked confused. With a smile on his face, Itachi urged him to come close. "Sorry, Sasuke," he said stopping him by poking his head, "some other time."

_We destroy everything we love… that's our curse…_

…

When Sasuke woke up he realized he was drenched in sweat. He sat up, his breathing had become elaborated and his cheeks were soaked with tears. He covered his face with his hands. He had seen Itachi again, it had felt so real. Before he knew it he was sobbing as he did in his brother's arms. The void was deeper with every passing day, he knew that, but he couldn't just forget or give in to pain, if he did, the void would be filled with numbness, and he had chosen to feel hatred instead of feeling nothing at all.

He needed to get a grip. He got out of bed to clean his face and get some fresh air. When he saw himself in the mirror he figured he needed to do something about those dreams, even when having Itachi by his side again made him feel at ease, there was a naïve usuratonkachi always barging in.

He splashed his face with water and caught his reflection again. Tonight had been different though… he was crying. He had seen it clear as day and even when he was ready to kill him when the moment came, something made him extremely uneasy about that image repeating over and over in his brain.

"_Why do you care so much?"_

"_Because we're friends"_

That idiot! How could he still say something like that after everything that had happened? How could he consider him a friend? Why?

_I think you know, Sasuke…_

"No, I don't, nii-san and I don't need to"

_You're still running, Sasuke… stop running…_

"Sasuke" A deep voice that was outside his head called out; he turned around to see the masked Uchiha who was leaning on the now fully opened door, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Nightmares again?"

"None of your business" he said grabbing a towel and shoving him off on his way out of the bathroom.

"Are the eyes giving you trouble?" Madara said pushing the subject.

"I said it's none of your business, didn't I?" He said exalted, Madara didn't flinch. Sasuke took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. "Look if you're here then it means we're moving. Have you finally found a good place for Hinata?"

"I already made the arrangements. You should see her off" The young Uchiha nodded and headed for the room next door. "You know, I told you to train those eyes, but…" he said making him come to a halt "it seems you're pushing yourself too much"

"I'm fine! And nothing's too much. Stop meddling in my business." He got out of the room. Madara stayed put for some seconds looking at the post where Sasuke had been a moment ago.

"Foolish boy, your business is my business."

…

He opened the door carefully in order not to wake her up abruptly but didn't find himself moving past the threshold. Hinata had been placed in a different room because there had been some complications with the baby and she needed complete peace. Peace… the very thing he couldn't provide anyone with.

The view outside the window caught his attention. A lightning strike followed by a sigh. It would rain soon.

His legs decided to finally follow his brain and made their way to the bed. She was sleeping peacefully, her long dark hair displayed over the pillow. He got in the bed next to her resting on his side and began to stroke her hair while she started to wake up. When she realized he was with her she smiled so beautifully that one corner of his lips was lifted trying to imitate a smile.

"Sasuke-kun" she said sluggishly with that sweet voice.

"When are you going to stop calling me 'Sasuke-kun'?" was his reply. She smiled. "How are you both?"

"We're fine" she answered. His hand was instinctively led to her belly.

"I'm sorry I had to wake you up, but it's time to leave." Her smile started to faint, but then she nodded gently and her smile became brighter. She knew that what Sasuke needed the most was support and so, she would provide as much.

"It's fine. Madara-san had already told me, I just fell asleep again." She said smiling apologetically and trying to sit up. Sasuke helped her.

"If you're tired, we can postpone it, you don't have to…" she wrapped her arms around him which startled him.

"Don't worry about me" she said in a whisper while she stroked his hair. He closed his eyes giving in to the tenderness of her caress. "We'll be together soon, won't we?" he pulled her closer, his head resting on her shoulder. Of course they would be together soon; he would make sure of it, but the uncertainty…

"We haven't decided on a name" he said, his hand caressing her back. "We could name him _Hiashi_… I owe your father that much." She smiled.

"As much as I love my father, for some reason I don't see my son being named _Hiashi_"

"Then how would you have him named?" He asked curious. As long as it wasn't something like Kiba, Shino, Neji or Naruto, it would be fine.

"Would you promise me you will consider it?" Sasuke sighed. He knew it was one of those names. He nodded. "I would love if we could name him _Itachi_." Dark eyes widened, his body went rigid and he couldn't make up a coherent thought for a moment. The sole idea of his son being named after his beloved brother was beyond him. He embraced Hinata tighter, he really appreciated this. "I want our son to take after him…"

"Hinata…" he said in a low voice. "Thank you" she smiled, her fingers still going through his hair.

"Sasuke" she called out without letting go of him. "I love you" her voice so low but full of conviction.

"I know" he whispered leaving a small kiss on the crook of her neck, his nose resting there for a while taking in her scent.

She took his face between her hands leaning her forehead over his. "What I really want you to understand is that I trust you more than anyone and I have faith in you…"

"No, please, don't…" he interrupted her trying to free himself from her grip. He knew where this was all going; they had spoken about it many times before. "I thought you had promised to see this through."

"I will" she said in a stronger tone of voice, very unlike her own making him come to a halt. "The only thing I ask you is to remember that" she clarified, her tone warmer and her hands working on the strands of hair near the back of his neck making him slightly shudder but calming him under her magic spell. "I don't want you to keep running" his eyes widening remembering what he thought Itachi had said. "I want you to know you have something to come back to, I want you to know I'll never lose my faith in you, ever." He gazed at her and for the first time in a long time he felt like the kid that had once thought the world began and ended with that sight.

She closed the distance between them and kissed him gently, but firmly.

That was the last time he saw her. It was raining.

_The curse… that curse… it destroys everything._


End file.
